caelinplants

Mindfully De-cluttering Your Space

Last summer I started my de-cluttering journey and I have learned a lot about the process. At first I was just trying to get rid of obvious trash and broken items. Over a year later here I am still downsizing and purging even more!

The big difference between now and then, is that now I understand the mental peace that truly comes with having less clutter surrounding you. I have changed my shopping habits as well as my rules for what is actually granted access into my home.

Prior to starting this process I would not give much thought to where in my home the things I bought would go. I would just impulsively buy items that I thought I would like to have, and then they would get put somewhere they ultimately did not belong. Quickly it seemed that shelves, desks, cabinets, and even under the bed storage was filling up. When we decided to move, it seemed like the perfect time to address the ever growing amount of things in our home.

I started with items that were broken, or stuff we had that never got used. Some examples are picture frames, a waffle maker, clothing that was beyond repair, and a lot of dog toys that had been chewed to bits.

After we got past all of that stuff, we started to notice a difference in how our home felt, and we were motivated! We went room by room and started to discuss every item we had. We looked at every piece of clothing, every cup in the cabinets, and every pen in the drawers, and after that we kept going!

By this point it was very apparent that a lot of things had been removed from the home. Some shelves were completely empty, and we even got rid of a lot of our furniture. Little bins and rolling organizers were no longer needed because we had purged all of the contents in them. This felt very liberating and gave us a lot of serenity, but we still had not actively made the decision to be more mindful, we had just made the decision to get rid of things.

After we had moved and got more settled, we talked about how nice it felt to have less to take care of. We had to clean and dust less, less of our things ended up broken or misplaced. We had more room to move around and enjoy our home. This is when we talked about our relationship to our possessions.

Looking back, I could not even tell you all of the things we got rid of, I truly do not remember most of the items we chose to give away, or had to put in the trash. We realized that if we chose to keep something in our home, it should be for good reason. Going forward we started asking questions. Does this item mean something to me? Do I use it often or at all? Does it serve a purpose or is it something that just takes up space?

Now I would not say that I am a minimalist necessarily. I do have some things that I keep as memorabilia, I do Sometimes get souvenirs when vacationing, and I do still have things that I keep because I just like them. I do think more mindfully about the impact of those items now, and I understand that if I buy something, it means that it will take up space in my home, and I will have to take care of it.

Almost all of my possessions now are very meaningful to me, I know where they are, and where they came from. I find myself buying a lot less at the store or online because I am happy with the things I have. I have learned to repair things that break, and how to better maintain them. When I make a purchase I think about it for a while before I buy, I tend not to impulse buy much anymore.

This whole experience has allowed me to be more grateful for what I have, and taught me that my house full of stuff was not making me happy, it was making me stressed.

I now avoid free goody bags at festivals, and SWAG at events or businesses. I love the peacefulness of a home that has cleared surfaces and drawers that are not filled to the brim.

I would like to end this by saying that when all of this started we were not hoarders, and our home was not dirty or unable to be walked through. It looked like any other home, we were living in a two bedroom apartment that had a detached garage. It was not until we had to pack up all of our things that we truly started understanding how much we really had. It was way more stuff than what we think two people need.

If you are interested by the idea of downsizing, or maybe even just doing a little purge, I would suggest starting by asking yourself what you think you could be happy without. For us it turns out we do not need much to be happy, and our home has never felt so peaceful.

10 Happy Healthy Morning Habits

Morning routine, Habits, Morning. — Morning Brew

Having a morning routine that wakes you up and makes you feel energized is so so important. I have spent the better part of two years tweaking and adjusting mine to fit all my needs.

I hope that seeing what I do will help you to create a routine that makes you excited to wake up in the morning. These are my ten habits that make my mornings happier and keep me feeling healthy!

1) Tell my house good morning.
A house at night should feel different than a house in the morning. In the morning I always open my blinds/curtains to let all that natural light in, it really helps me to wake up. I also tell my partner and our dogs good morning and give them all a hug and kiss. For the darker parts of my house where the sunlight can not get in due to lack of windows, I have put Phillips hue bulbs and I set them to a “morning light” setting. It is important that your house not look like a dark cave in the morning, or you will find yourself wanting to go back to sleep.

2) Drink a glass of water.
It does not have to be the largest cup your own. Just get some water down first thing in the morning. Drinking water in the morning helps to wake you up, get your digestive system working, give you some energy, and helps you feel fresh for the day!

3) Stretch and get some exercise.
I do a short yoga circuit in the morning to get my body moving. This helps with mobility and decreases the chances of injury and stiffness during the day. It does not have to be yoga, you can do some basic stretches that you know, or look some up. Get your body moving for 5 – 10 minutes and you will feel noticeably better the whole day.

4) Have a healthy breakfast.
Giving your body the nutrients and calories it needs to perform throughout the day is arguably the most important thing to do. Pay attention to what you put in your body. Try to aim for foods that will give you energy and not lead to lethargy. Two of my favorites are smoothies, and scrambles. Smoothies are so diverse and light, you can really put anything in them. Plus they are portable! Scrambles are also great for mixing it up, you can throw all kinds of vegetables, tofu, and sauce in there and boom! You got yourself a nice healthy breakfast.

5) Meditate.
I have starting meditating multiple times a day this year, it has done wonders! Meditation can be hard at first, I would recommend finding a guided meditation to start with. Having a guide and something to listen to is going to be so much easier than if you try to sit in complete silence for ten minutes. Trust me!

6) Read and write.
I have three little daily readers that I use in the morning. Each has a short passage for every single day. All of them are uplifting and positive and have a quote or question to think about through the day. I highly recommend getting at least one daily reader to give you something to think about in the morning other than your to-do list.

7) Morning hygiene.
Everyone has a different self care routine for the morning, mine is pretty short and simple. I wash my face, braid my hair, put on some lotion and deodorant, brush my teeth and that’s it! Even on the weekends, or days when I am not going anywhere I at least do these things. Getting yourself ready in the morning makes it a lot more likely that you will have the day you want and not couch potato all day.

8) Get Outside.
Fresh air and some sun is basically magic. A short walk up and down your street will get your blood moving and give you some endorphins. I prefer taking my dogs when possible, sometimes I walk them, other times I set up the joring equipment and take them on a bike ride.

9) Vitamins and natural energy boosters.
I take a daily multivitamin and also a daily natural energy boosting vitamin. Recently I have starting putting a natural energy mix in with my protein smoothies as well. It is all plant based and organic, and it is what works for my body. If you are not a protein smoothie kind of person then a good daily multivitamin is what I would recommend.

10) Daily plan.
Okay, so this is the part where you have to have some self control. Plan your day out, every part! Even if part of the plan is that from 4pm – 6pm you have free time to do whatever, put it in the plan. If you have a to-do list, make time to get three to six of those things checked off the list. Cooking? Schedule it. Chores? Schedule it. Relax time? Schedule it! Put every single thing on the schedule and follow it. This is the best way to ensure that you will not be just floating through your day.